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Conservative Party of Canada

Andrew Scheer

Prime Minister Harper Announces Tax Relief for Adoptive Families

August 20, 2015

BACKGROUNDER

THE ISSUE

Under Prime Minister Harper’s proven leadership, our Conservative government has cut taxes and is making life more affordable for all Canadians. In 2015 alone, our low-tax plan will return as much as $6,600 dollars of tax relief and enhanced benefits back into the hands of each hardworking family in Canada. Since 2006, the Harper Government has:

Cut the GST from 7% to 5%.

Increased the Age Credit amount by $2,000 and doubled, to $2,000, the maximum amount of income eligible for the Pension Income Credit.

Introduced the Family Tax Cut, a tax credit of up to $2,000 for couples with children under the age of 18, and pension income splitting for seniors.

Created and enhanced the Universal Child Care Benefit that provides an increased benefit of $160 per month for children under the age of 6, and a new benefit of $60 per month for children aged 6 through 17.

Increased by $1,000 each of the maximum dollar amounts that can be claimed under the Child Care Expense Deduction, starting in 2015.

Doubled the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit to $1,000 as of 2014, and made the credit refundable.

The Conservative government has also made life more affordable for Canadian families, particularly when it comes to managing some of the additional costs borne by adoptive parents.

The Adoption Expense Tax Credit is a 15-percent non-refundable tax credit to help defray the costs associated with adoption. In 2013, the Harper Government expanded the Adoption Expense Tax Credit to extend the period during which parents are able to claim certain expenses so that more adoption-related expenses are eligible under the credit. In 2014, to better recognize the costs associated with adoption, the Harper Government increased the maximum amount of the Adoption Expense Tax Credit from $11,774 to $15,000, indexed to inflation. Adoptive parents benefit from approximately $4 million per year in tax relief through this credit.

About 3,000 children are adopted in Canada every year – but at any given time, there are about 30,000 within our country alone in need of stable homes filled with love, and thousands of Canadian families waiting to invite them into their hearts and lives.

THE PLAN

There is no higher calling than that of raising a child, and no greater reward. In order to help make it more affordable for Canadian parents to adopt children, a re-elected Conservative government will significantly increase the value of the Adoption Expense Tax Credit, raising the maximum amount to $20,000, and make it fully refundable. The changes will take effect beginning in 2016-17. The maximum amount that can be claimed under this credit will remain indexed to inflation.

The Adoption Council of Canada estimates that the range of costs for adoption is: $0-$3,000 for public adoptions, $10,000 to $20,000 for adoptions through licensed private agencies, and $20,000 to $30,000 for international adoptions.

An enhanced Adoption Expense Tax Credit that allows adoptive parents to claim up to $20,000 in eligible costs will help meet the needs of families being transformed by adoption. Making the tax credit refundable ensures that even those with modest incomes who do not earn enough to pay income taxes can benefit from this credit. These improvements will provide an estimated $4 million per year in additional tax relief to adoptive families.

In addition to the support adoptive parents receive from the Adoption Expense Tax Credit, these Canadian families also receive help from tax relief and benefits like the enhanced Universal Child Care Benefit, the Family Tax Cut, and Tax-Free Savings Accounts, among others. All Canadian families with children aged 17 and under, including those who adopt, will benefit from these measures and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s low-tax plan.

Regrettably, Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulcair oppose supporting adoptive families through the Adoption Expense Tax Credit, and voted against it in 2014. This is yet another in a list of benefits for families that Trudeau and Mulcair would cancel, including the enhanced Universal Child Care Benefit and Tax-Free Savings Accounts.

THE CHOICE

Canadians have a choice between Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s proven leadership and low-tax plan for Canadian families, and the high-tax agenda of Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulcair.

Conservatives believe that that Canadians should keep more of their hard-earned money and are best-placed to decide how to invest in the needs and priorities of their families. Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulcair will take money away from Canadian families and spend it on big, new government programs that ultimately do nothing to help middle-class families. That’s the price of inexperience and bad fiscal management on the one hand, and a dangerous ideological adherence to the same high-tax, high-debt policies creating economic chaos elsewhere in the world.